List of Steven Universe characters
Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and is the first Cartoon Network show to be created by a woman. The series focuses on the adventures of the Crystal Gems—magical alien warriors who protect the Earth from their own kind—and the humans they interact with in the fictional town of Beach City. It has received critical acclaim for the diversity and deep characterization of its characters; its portrayal of relationships, including queer relationships; and subversion of stereotypical gender norms, along with its art style, voice acting, music, and storytelling. Main characters 'Garnet' The disciplined current leader of the Crystal Gems, Garnet (voiced by Estelle) is quiet, stoic, pragmatic, and described by Steven as "mysterious", but over the course of the series she becomes more emotionally open, especially in expressing her love for Steven. According to the writers, her great self-confidence is reflected in the fact that she never asks questions. She possesses red garnets embedded in her hands, from which she summons her Gem weapon, a pair of heavy gauntlets. She also has a precognitive ability she refers to as "future vision". Garnet has three eyes, over which she wears a visor. In the first-season finale "Jail Break", it is revealed that Garnet is a fusion of two smaller Gems named Ruby and Sapphire. Garnet's existence is thus a personification of Ruby and Sapphire's loving relationship—she describes herself as "a conversation" and "made of love"—and her personality is a stable blending of Ruby and Sapphire's traits. The character of Garnet has won acclaim from critics as a representation of a queer relationship. Though she is normally stoic, Garnet's strongest emotional displays are often centered around fusion: anger and revulsion at what she perceives as abuses or perversions of fusion, and delight when Steven develops the ability to fuse. The second-season episode "The Answer", a flashback showing how Ruby and Sapphire met and formed Garnet for the first time, was nominated for an Emmy Award and adapted into a children's book. 'Ruby and Sapphire' Ruby (voiced by Charlyne Yi) and Sapphire (voiced by Erica Luttrell)—the two smaller Gems who are the components of Garnet—first appeared in "Jail Break". They have contrasting personalities and abilities: Sapphire is an emotionally reserved Gem who held a high rank on Homeworld, having ice-related powers and the ability to see into the future; while Ruby is impulsive and hotheaded, has fire-related abilities, and was a common foot soldier on Homeworld. Garnet's qualities are the result of a "conversation" between these two contrasting personalities. Near the end of the fifth season, after a period of questioning the basis of their relationship in the wake of revelations about Rose Quartz's past, Ruby and Sapphire recommit themselves to each other through marriage; critics described the characters' marriage as a milestone of progress in the history of queer representation in children's television. Major supporting characters 'Humans' 'Greg Universe' Steven's father Greg (voiced by Tom Scharpling) is a former rock singer who now lives in his van and runs a car wash in Beach City. Although Steven lives with the Gems, Greg remains a constant presence in his life. Although he is often made uncomfortable by Gem magic, Greg is laid-back, accepting, and supportive of Steven's adventures; it is largely from Greg that Steven inherits his optimistic, empathetic temperament. 'Connie Maheswaran' Connie (voiced by Grace Rolek) is Steven's best friend. Introduced as an intelligent yet lonely person in the episode "Bubble Buddies" early in the first season, she rapidly develops a close relationship with Steven. An avid reader of fantasy literature, she admires what she calls Steven's "magical destiny" and is eager to be part of it. Her increasing involvement in Gem adventures, eventually leading to her becoming accepted as a member of the Crystal Gems, is a long-term plot arc, including learning to fight with Rose Quartz's sword and coming to see herself as Steven's equal despite not having magical abilities of her own. Another character arc involving Connie is her learning to push back against her overprotective parents. 'Lars and Sadie' At the beginning of the series, Lars Barriga (voiced by Matthew Moy) and Sadie Miller (voiced by Kate Micucci) are teenage employees at the Big Donut, a donut shop that Steven frequently visits. Lars is inconsiderate, irresponsible, and abrasive, but insecure and desperate to be accepted by those he considers to be the "cool kids". Sadie is friendly and shy, but has difficulty asserting herself and tends to try and fix Lars' issues for him. Despite Lars's negative attitude, Steven considers Lars to be a close friend, and Sadie has a crush on him. Lars and Sadie's intermittently affectionate and antagonistic relationship is a recurring focus of episodes in which both characters feature. Matthew Moy has stated that Lars is one of his favorite acting roles, and has described his character as a "complicated fellow". According to Rebecca Sugar, Lars and Sadie are based upon characters she created while in college. They appeared in both the pilot episode of Steven Universe and the first episode of the series proper; they are the only characters other than the Crystal Gems to have speaking roles in those episodes. Lars is prominently featured at the end of season 4 and beginning of season 5, during which he is abducted and taken to the Gem Homeworld with Steven; his character arc in these episodes focuses on him learning to overcome his fear of embarrassing himself and being perceived as inadequate. This storyline culminates when he is killed defending Steven and others from Homeworld security robots and then revived by Steven's healing powers. When revived, Lars's body has turned pink, and he manifests magical properties, including the ability for Steven to teleport to a pocket dimension via his hair. With his newfound confidence, Lars becomes the leader of a band of fugitive Gems and captain of a stolen spaceship. At the same time, Sadie, left behind on Earth, develops the self-confidence to quit her job at the Big Donut and form a horror rock band with the "cool kids", "Sadie Killer and the Suspects". 'Gems' 'Rose Quartz' The original leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz (voiced by Susan Egan) is Steven's mother, who "gave up her physical form" to allow Steven to be born. Her gem is embedded in her abdomen. Although she appears only in flashbacks, her legacy and her absence define the lives and relationships of the other main characters. She led the ancient rebellion against the Gem homeworld, and the Crystal Gems describe her to Steven as loving and seeing beauty in all forms of life. Flashback episodes show the development of her relationship with Greg from infatuation into love and understanding, and eventually her earlier history as well. Steven initially feels great pressure to live up to her example as a compassionate leader, but his relationship with her memory becomes complicated at the end of the third season when he learns of morally questionable actions that she undertook during the war. "Lion 3: Straight to Video", the first episode in which she appeared (via a videotaped message to Steven), was nominated for an Emmy Award for short-form animation. In the fifth-season episode "A Single Pale Rose", Rose Quartz is revealed to have originally been Pink Diamond, the Gem leader overseeing the Gem colonization of the planet Earth. Originally immature and believing herself to be undervalued by the other Diamonds, she was made miserable by the strict expectations placed on her by her status as a Diamond. She created the alternate identity of Rose Quartz to alleviate her boredom while running the colonization of Earth, and ended up falling in love with the diversity of the planet's life and the possibilities that came with it. Unable to protect the life on Earth any other way, she used her new alternate identity to lead the rebellion to protect the planet, and eventually faked her own assassination to break free from her former life. References Characters Category:Lists of characters in American television animation Category:Cartoon Network-related lists Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2013 Category:2010s television-related lists